Siglent Bench DMMs SDM3065X, SDM3055 and SDM3045X

[Kean]

You could use SCPI over the USB or Ethernet connection to get continuous readings and thus trigger some other sound/alert.
But yes, I agree - that is a lot of work and unlikely to give a good result.

Some problems with this are
- You can't do it with a PIC18F4550 or similar as they don't support the USB Host functionality needed.  It maybe doable with a RPi Pico.
- When controlled via SCPI commands it interferes with normal front panel functions of the DMM.
- There would be noticeable latency in continuity mode due to the SCPI readout rate.

In addition, the USB interface hardware would not have a way to use the data pins as simple logic outputs as that would not follow USB spec.

Going back to your VM Comp output, any change in the pulses relate to change in measurement rate which will be affected by DMM mode, range, auto-ranging, auto-zero, and other things.  I don't imagine this will be a usable method to mimic continuity readout.  I don't have a Siglent DMM to test with, but if I get a chance I will check the output on my Keysight DMMs just out of interest.

If the VM Comp output is under software control, then Siglent may be able to provide new firmware with an option to configure it as a continuity signal instead.  That seems like the easiest solution (beyond just opening up the meter and swapping out the buzzer), but I have no idea if they would be interested in adding such a feature.

[t1d]

It wouild be a lot easier if Siglent would just modify the firmware to allow the setting of the frequency of the beep. If enough people complain, maybe it'll get done.

Thank you for helping. The short history is that people did complain and Siglent did add a selection of three tones. It is available on newer firmware updates. I know that it is on my 3065 firmware, but I think that is on all DMMs of this series. However, they could not add additional volume, as the units are already set for maximum volume, when constructed at the factory. Edit: History credit goes to tautech.

I have mine set to the middle tone and, for my (diminished) hearing it does help. But, it is still frustrating.

[t1d]

You could use SCPI over the USB or Ethernet connection to get continuous readings and thus trigger some other sound/alert.
But yes, I agree - that is a lot of work and unlikely to give a good result.

Some problems with this are
- You can't do it with a PIC18F4550 or similar as they don't support the USB Host functionality needed.  It maybe doable with a RPi Pico.
- When controlled via SCPI commands it interferes with normal front panel functions of the DMM.
- There would be noticeable latency in continuity mode due to the SCPI readout rate.

In addition, the USB interface hardware would not have a way to use the data pins as simple logic outputs as that would not follow USB spec.

Going back to your VM Comp output, any change in the pulses relate to change in measurement rate which will be affected by DMM mode, range, auto-ranging, auto-zero, and other things.  I don't imagine this will be a usable method to mimic continuity readout.  I don't have a Siglent DMM to test with, but if I get a chance I will check the output on my Keysight DMMs just out of interest.

If the VM Comp output is under software control, then Siglent may be able to provide new firmware with an option to configure it as a continuity signal instead.  That seems like the easiest solution (beyond just opening up the meter and swapping out the buzzer), but I have no idea if they would be interested in adding such a feature.

Thanks, Kean. This is good information. As said, I am not much of a coder and know just a little about communications... SPI and I2C, but nothing of USB. You have certainly given Siglent some things to consider.

As for a hardware solution, yes, I will be installing something shortly after my warranty ends. It is simply the best way to correct the problem.

It would be nice/fun to be able to go ahead and be designing that solution, in the interim. But, I need the particulars of the existing circuit's operations and hardware. I have asked for those details, here, but I haven't heard anything, yet.

Hmm... as Siglent was able to add a selection of frequencies, I would think 1) the buzzer is not fully self-contained, 2) it frequency is driven directly by an MCU and 3) there is some possibility that it is an actual speaker, not just a piezo. But, this is just more spit-balling.

I think Defpom participates on this forum and I am fairly sure that he has had a good look around inside this series of DMM. Well, for that matter, Dave has done a tear down review, as well. It would be nice, if they would clue us in. (Yes, I am aware that they are majorly busy running their companies... Just saying.)

[Wrenches of Death]

It wouild be a lot easier if Siglent would just modify the firmware to allow the setting of the frequency of the beep. If enough people complain, maybe it'll get done.

Thank you for helping. The short history is that people did complain and Siglent did add a selection of three tones. It is available on newer firmware updates. I know that it is on my 3065 firmware, but I think that is on all DMMs of this series. However, they could not add additional volume, as the units are already set for maximum volume, when constructed at the factory. Edit: History credit goes to tautech.

I have mine set to the middle tone and, for my (diminished) hearing it does help. But, it is still frustrating.

My 3055 is getting close to a year old and has the latest firmware. As far as topic related adjustments, I have only found the three levels of volume. I thought that maybe volume and tone might have gotten "confused" in the translation, but I can't hear any of the three.

These are in the "Cont" menu. Are there tone adjustments elsewhere that I've missed, or are they only on the 3065?

Thanks!

WoD

[bateau020]

On my same age SDM3055 with the latest firmware: the "Volume" settings in Cont in reality are frequency settings, Low to Middle to High beep at different frequencies: low to middle to high. All loud enough for me. I must note that in my lab, the fan of the 3055 is the loudest of all the noises.
So if you hear nothing at all, then something must be wrong or you have a very noisy environment.

[Bad_Driver]

It's the same with the SDM3065X, 3 levels with different frequencies, medium is sufficient for my old ears...

[klausES]

...I can't hear it even with my ear against the vent. If it's above about 3500hz, it doesn't exist in my world...

Nothing to hear for a person above 3500 Hz would be very unusual.
Of course, I do not know your hearing and definitely never wants to say anything that I can't know.
I just ask this to make sure that it is not a hardware defect.
Did you have the opportunity to hear another person heard whether this beeper gives a sound at all and how loud another person would judge this tone without deficit ?

[Wrenches of Death]

...I can't hear it even with my ear against the vent. If it's above about 3500hz, it doesn't exist in my world...

Nothing to hear for a person above 3500 Hz would be very unusual.
Of course, I do not know your hearing and definitely never wants to say anything that I can't know.
I just ask this to make sure that it is not a hardware defect.
Did you have the opportunity to hear another person heard whether this beeper gives a sound at all and how loud another person would judge this tone without deficit ?

I shot competitively for close to a half a century. I've fired hundreds of thousands of rounds with handguns, rifles, shotguns, and submachine guns.

In days past, no one used hearing protection. As time progressed, I learned to stuff a cigarette filter in each ear. As decades passed, I started wearing proper hearing protection when I shot. Now I even wear it when I mow or use a chainsaw, etc. I can't get back what I've already lost, but I can try to preserve what I have left.

The 3500hz number is no BS. I determined the 3500hz limit with my GenRad 1310B oscillator and a high quality speaker. Like I said, anything above about 3500hz doesn't exist in my world.

WoD

[richardlicker]

my meter was faulty, started locking up constantly. was able to return it and get another one from the same source, and this one hasn't been locking up. all the other issues remain though, if I power down the meter, it is like powering up a bran d new meter for the first time; doesn't remember *anything*. it's annoying enough that I just leave this thing running 24/7 now because at the end of the day, this is a tool to earn me money, not a lab instrument to be babied.

having used this as my daily driver for a few months in my repair lab, my biggest gripes are the absolutely useless bar graph mode, the inability to remember any settings, and the quiet beeper. I like this meter well enough that I would buy a second one to sit atop it if the settings bug was fixed, but I think I might slide a 34460 under this one once they become available.

gotta give a shout out to the signlent phone support though, within minutes of calling I was on the phone with a enginerd, and he helped me get my defunct meter returned. these guys are literally just a proper firmware update away form having a fully fantastic bit of kit here

[tautech]

my meter was faulty, started locking up constantly. was able to return it and get another one from the same source, and this one hasn't been locking up. all the other issues remain though, if I power down the meter, it is like powering up a bran d new meter for the first time; doesn't remember *anything*. it's annoying enough that I just leave this thing running 24/7 now because at the end of the day, this is a tool to earn me money, not a lab instrument to be babied.

having used this as my daily driver for a few months in my repair lab, my biggest gripes are the absolutely useless bar graph mode, the inability to remember any settings, and the quiet beeper. I like this meter well enough that I would buy a second one to sit atop it if the settings bug was fixed, but I think I might slide a 34460 under this one once they become available.

gotta give a shout out to the signlent phone support though, within minutes of calling I was on the phone with a enginerd, and he helped me get my defunct meter returned. these guys are literally just a proper firmware update away form having a fully fantastic bit of kit here

1. Check it's FW is the latest version here:
https://int.siglent.com/download/firmwares/?CateIdss=5
2. RTFM, goto System> Power On settings change from Default to Last

[dracotonisamond]

Its not really relevant but when i was looking at these meters i could not find any info on if they stacked with Rigol function generators.

the answer is they do, but not the other way around.

[Wrenches of Death]

the answer is they do, but not the other way around.

Are the bumpers swap-able? You know, remove the left one, flip it over and install in on the right side and visa versa?

WoD

[dracotonisamond]

the answer is they do, but not the other way around.

Are the bumpers swap-able? You know, remove the left one, flip it over and install in on the right side and visa versa?

WoD

Yes, the bumpers can be installed in reverse.

[richardlicker]

thanks for the condescending reply! it's not like I'd read the short manual, or be running the latest firmware on both of these meters, much less discover the power on/last setting, which is actually burried under  store/recall, not system setup.

anyhow, it doesn't fucking work. the only setting it memorizes is which mode you left the meter on, ie. dcv, 2wire, cont., etc. it doesn't remember your range settings, speed settings, display settings, etc.,

you know, *the settings I actually want it to remember*, the settings that take a bunch of button presses to set up each time you power on your meter, not the page I was on which can be changed by a single button press.

[tautech]

anyhow, it doesn't fucking work. the only setting it memorizes is which mode you left the meter on, ie. dcv, 2wire, cont., etc. it doesn't remember your range settings, speed settings, display settings, etc.,

Yep, WTF ! 
Thanks richardlicker and now reported with an urgent fix request.

[tautech]

anyhow, it doesn't fucking work. the only setting it memorizes is which mode you left the meter on, ie. dcv, 2wire, cont., etc. it doesn't remember your range settings, speed settings, display settings, etc.,

Yep, WTF ! 
Thanks richardlicker and now reported with an urgent fix request.

After making the same mistake as richardlicker and then contacting Siglent Tech support to be told otherwise, over the weekend all 3 SDM models with latest FW have been checked for Power On = Last behavior and it is correct. 
However if you test this behavior in some impatient manner as richardlicker and I have done it certainly seems not to work correctly however when given a few seconds before shutdown after changing to another measurement mode the Power On = Last works as intended.
I checked measurement type and Range setting are both saved and returned after boot when Power On = Last is selected.

[hpw]

anyhow, it doesn't fucking work. the only setting it memorizes is which mode you left the meter on, ie. dcv, 2wire, cont., etc. it doesn't remember your range settings, speed settings, display settings, etc.,

Yep, WTF ! 
Thanks richardlicker and now reported with an urgent fix request.

After making the same mistake as richardlicker and then contacting Siglent Tech support to be told otherwise, over the weekend all 3 SDM models with latest FW have been checked for Power On = Last behavior and it is correct. 
However if you test this behavior in some impatient manner as richardlicker and I have done it certainly seems not to work correctly however when given a few seconds before shutdown after changing to another measurement mode the Power On = Last works as intended.
I checked measurement type and Range setting are both saved and returned after boot when Power On = Last is selected.

Hmm, SDM3065X as running on graph mode as dBm... waiting until the graph is fully filled up...switch off... switch on gets back to VAC ...

Reported this to the support and confirmed as bug (Case ID:KHWT-202205310530) ... same thing on temperature and may current too

1) running on dBm on dBm as SDM-1.png
2) reboot back to VAC 

[Kleinstein]

If the settings are stored in EEPROM it makes sense to wait some time before actually writing them to reduce the number of write cycles. Just waiting for the graphics to build up may not be enough. It many take something like 1 minute. This would not be so bad, if the instructions would tell the waiting time it takes.

[blurpy]

Other Siglent devices work the same way. Don't turn off right after changing a setting if you want it stored.

[hpw]

If the settings are stored in EEPROM it makes sense to wait some time before actually writing them to reduce the number of write cycles. Just waiting for the graphics to build up may not be enough. It many take something like 1 minute. This would not be so bad, if the instructions would tell the waiting time it takes.

As you see in the first picture as dBm ... 1minutes where over... so switched off after!!

And how does it goes when the time graph is about 3600seconds...  a complete design flaws 

[Johnny B Good]

@tautech

 It would seem in this case, that patience truly is a virtue! 

 Diving into the system menu to change that setting to "Last" was never a priority for me when I first took delivery because, in the interest of clocking the first thousand hours of reference burn in time, it was rarely switched off overnight for at least the first six weeks.

 It was only when I saw your post on how to change from the default factory setting on power up that reminded me to set it to "Last" and eliminate the minor annoyance of having to disable the auto-zero on every power up (it's had well over 2,000 hours of 'burn in' time and its 13W consumption has become a luxury I'd prefer to spend on my RFS).

 It seems, like you and Richard, I too had been a little too swift off the mark when checking it out. In my case, fortuitously, the only thing it seemed to be remembering about my last settings was the disabled auto-zero. The main improvement I wanted but I was a little bemused to see the 20vdc and the 10G ohm settings revert back to auto and 10M respectively. Not a problem in this case since I didn't happen to require the Hi-Z option and therefore no need to set the range to 20vdc in order to enable it.

 Having seen your post about allowing extra time before powering it down in order for the last user settings change to be properly stored for next time, I changed it to 20vdc, auto-zero off and 10G and waited over a minute  before switching it off (a power down request really since you have to lean on the on/off button for just over a second to convince it that you really really meant to switch it off). This time, it came back on with those extra setting just as I'd left them - mystery solved!

 I guess this behaviour only becomes apparent when testing to see whether it actually works as advertised and you power cycle it too soon for the last user settings saving operation to run to completion. In normal circumstances, you may well have changed the settings hours beforehand before casually powering it down so this issue remains nicely hidden out of sight.

 Normally, one wouldn't bother anticipating what change of settings will be needed for the next session so will just let it remember the current settings and switch off since it's very likely that your next session will be using the same settings anyway and if not, it's just a case of changing them after powering it up to suit whatever new test regime you're going to be running next. I can't see why anyone would want to do otherwise so this is only an issue that arises out of trying to quickly test this feature.

 Incidentally, I've just repeated the settings change test and it seems to be a case of allowing at least ten seconds for each changed setting so if you only change a single setting (eg auto-zero), ten seconds pause before power cycling it seems to suffice but if you change range, PLC, auto-zero and input Z one after the other, that seems to require a 40 seconds pause for them all to be updated.

 In normal use, this won't be a problem since such wholesale changes will likely enjoy minutes to hours of 'Pause Time' before being powered off anyway. Still, it's worth knowing about this 'peculiarity' when it comes to enabling the 'use last settings' feature. I just checked the manual and it makes no mention of this "Gotcha!" in the power on settings section. A note to explain why not all changes of user settings might be successfully saved on power down would neatly address this limitation. After your chat with customer support, I suspect such a note may well appear in the next user manual revision.

[tautech]

Thanks JBG.
Siglent may have changed some code in recent FW that contains their flash memory optimisation that’s impacted on how and the frequency of settings save’s which may or may not need to be mentioned in the manual.

Now we know about this behaviour let’s just focus on what these meters don’t do properly, verify issues and report them for fixing.

[Tjuurko]

The feature of working with the SC1016 scanner card (checked on SDM3065X-SC).
When working with a scanner card, all channels (CH1-CH16) are connected to the input terminals (with the inscription of 1000V Max).
If the wires are connected to the front panel, then be sure to turn them off (do not supply voltage).
The opposite is true: when measuring high voltages (1000V), it is advisable to turn off everything from the scanner card (1000V will only be supplied to the contacts of the relay UD2-4.5NU).

[Kleinstein]

To be on the safe side on should use the SDM3065X-SC only up to 300 V even for the normal inputs. There are still the relays for the scanner card involved that seem to have a limited voltage rating. Besides the relays there can also be issues with the connector and creepage distances on the PCB.  A similar limitation also applies to other DMMs with scanner card - they usually reduce the voltage rating for the whole meter.
As the scanner is a factory only option, they may as well change the lables on the front to a reduced CAT rating.

[Tjuurko]

I most of all did not like the lack of a ban on any voltage at the entrance on the front panel. When operating CH13-CH16, the input resistance becomes 0.1 Ohm.